U.S. trained Afghan military elites “defect” to Daesh

1. International

November 2, 2021 – Tehran Times

TEHRAN – In what might be one of the most disastrous outcomes of the anarchic 20 year American occupation of Afghanistan and subsequent chaotic withdrawal; a report suggests former members of the U.S.-trained Afghan intelligence service and elite military units, have joined the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group operating in the country.

For starters, before the American-led invasion in 2001, there was no such Takfiri terrorist entity called Daesh in existence. Not in Afghanistan, not in West Asia, and nowhere else in the world. Only After America’s so-called “war on terror” and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria did terrorist groups with extremely Takfiri ideologies emerge. Such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front which chops the heads of civilians in front of the village elders for a living and the much more barbaric Daesh Takfiri group. There is many more of these org organizations but not enough space to name them.

Many have accused the United States and its allies of creating and funding these Takfiri terrorist groups; among those who have made those allegations include former U.S. President Donald Trump who blamed his predecessors. Thanks to Wikileaks which leaked Hillary Clinton’s emails, the former U.S. Secretary of State, said: “We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.” 

What about President Joe Biden himself? He had previously told students at the Harvard Kennedy School “our biggest problem was our allies, the Turks… the Saudis, the Emirates, etc., what were they doing? They were so determined to take down (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad.” He added that these policies ended up helping Takfiri militants linked to al-Qaeda and ultimately Daesh.

Countries such as Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and others have long accused the United States of supporting Daesh. 

Remember America supported militants against the Soviet Union that went on to form the al-Qaeda terror group, America supported the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein who became a monster, the same can be said about militants in Libya, Iraq, and Syria. Some analysts say American foreign policy in West Asia has always been a disaster with the creation of terror groups and instability. But the real question is whether this policy is intentional? Surely after decades, a country would learn that arming the wrong groups, again and again, will create terror; yet that doesn’t appear to be the case for America. 

So is it really surprising to hear reports that Taliban leaders and former Afghan republic security officials saying the number of U.S. trained defectors joining the Daesh terrorist group is relatively small, but growing? And that more crucially, these new recruits bring to Daesh vital expertise in intelligence-gathering and warfare techniques, potentially strengthening the extremist organization’s ability to contest Taliban supremacy. Or to put it more simply carry on the instability, violence, and terror in Afghanistan. Continue the status quo before the U.S. withdrew. 

After all, trillions of dollars have been spent on this occupation so why would America want to see stability or security in the country. If it did, Washington would not have led the invasion in the first place 20 years ago with the aim of causing sedition in West Asia and surrounding the Islamic Republic of Iran by invading Iraq as well. 

In Syria and Iraq some groups began as al-Qaeda terrorists, then rebranded their names (or were ordered to do so) to get funding and weapons; then changed their names again, such as the Nusra Front for example. But they never changed their ideology. And if you ask any military expert; they will tell you defeating a terrorist group on the battlefield is just part of the solution. You have to defeat the ideology and that is something that cannot be achieved by guns. 

Countries such as Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and others have long accused the United States of supporting Daesh.  Do you really invade and occupy an entire country to take out Osama Bin Laden, one single terrorist? An individual that could have been killed with a drone strike in Afghanistan; as it turned out he wasn’t in Afghanistan in the first place anyway. So much for U.S. intelligence. 

What makes this report by the Wall Street Journal more disturbing for the international community is recent comments by the Russian military. Dmitry Shugayev, the chief of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation says the vast amount of advanced U.S. military hardware abandoned in Afghanistan may appear on the black market, which will create problems for the whole world. He warns “that the Americans have squandered a mammoth amount of money on weapons and other military equipment has become a terrible headache not only for Afghanistan but for the whole world as well to an extent because various terrorist organizations are entrenched there. It should not be ruled out that they may lay [their] hands on this arsenal if they have not done so already” 

He also warned that there was a high risk that these weapons might begin to be sold on the illegal market. “In other words, they may surface anywhere in the world. In all likelihood, some very unpleasant surprises may be in store for us. The more so, since the equipment the United States has left behind is a lot more serious than popguns.”

According to Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the day that the U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan, they abandoned $85 billion worth of sophisticated weapons. Other separate reports had also indicated a similar figure, with some referring to former U.S. President Donald Trump as a source.

According to the Wall Street Journal, an Afghan national army officer who commanded the military’s weapons and ammunition depot in the southeastern Paktia province joined Daesh and was killed a week ago in a clash with Taliban forces, according to a former Afghan official who knew him. The former official said several other men he knew all members of the former Afghan republic’s intelligence and military, also joined Daesh after the Taliban searched their homes and demanded that they present themselves to the country’s new authorities. 

The WSJ also reports that a resident in district north of Kabul says his cousin; a former senior member of Afghanistan’s Special Forces, disappeared in September and was now part of a Daesh terror cell. Four other members of the Afghan national army that the man knew have enlisted with the terrorists.

Rahmatullah Nabil, a former head of Afghanistan’s spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, who left the country shortly before the Taliban takeover says “In some areas, Daesh has become very attractive” to former members of Afghan security and defense forces “who have been left behind.” “If there were a resistance, they would have joined the resistance.” But he said, “For the time being, Daesh is the only other armed group.”

Does that sound close to what the U.S. deep state is trying to implement. Withdraw from the country after 20 years of violence, but leave behind $85 billion worth of sophisticated weapons, leave behind a security vacuum and leave behind tens of thousands of former soldiers without a payroll and Daesh terrorists with plenty of money to pay them. Then, expand Daesh in Afghanistan and use the group as a proxy to continue the bombing of mosques and other forms of insecurity. And it’s not difficult to believe that Daesh ringleaders have always been informed of the plan.

source https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/466612/U-S-trained-Afghan-military-elites-defect-to-Daesh